Electric door operator with auxiliary operating means



ELECTRIC DOOR OPERATOR WITH AUXILIARY OPERATING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet l OST P. M. GRIFFIN Ou CO IN V EN TOR. De/*cy /Yr/Y//b Q .OQ

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April 18, 1950 P. M. GRIFFIN 2,504,408

ELECTRIC DooR OPERATOR WITH AUXILIARY OPERATING VMEANS Filed March 29, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 y "mi 4 Patented Apr. 18, 1950 UNI TED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC DOOR OPERATOR WITH` AUXILIARY OPERATING MEANS Percy M. Griffin, Albany,` N. Y., assignor to Consoldated Car-Heating Company, Inc., Albany, N. Y;, acorporaton of NewYork Application March 29, 1945, Serial.No..585,450.

7 Claims. 'gq

My invention relates to operating devices f or doors on busses, cars, elevators andthe like, andr more particularly to operators of' this type which are electrically driven.

One of the objects ofmy invention is to provide an operatorof this character which is driven directly by a motor Without the use of gears, or other speedV reducing devices between the motor and the driven elements of the operator. Another object is to provide an operator having a yielding connection between the motor and the door operating mechanismand which also functions to hold the door in yieldingly closed or open position so that in the event a portion of a passengers body' should be caught between portions of' the door, or between the door andthe lamb, no material injury to the passenger` will result. Another object is to provide a device of, this character which will operate smoothly throughout the door opening and closing movements thereof without jamming or' binding and which is` readily adjustable to providev theV precise stroke or movement requiredy to effect a complete opening or a complete closing of the door. A further object is to provide a, device of this character with means which may be manually Vreleased to effect an automatic opening of the door in the eventl that the motor is rendered inoperative by reason of power failure or otherwise. A still further object is to provide a device of this character of simple construction which may be easily assembled and disassembled.

I accomplish these objects by means of the novel elements and the combinations and arrangements thereof` described below and illustrated4 in the accompanying drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of my device ;l

Fig. 2 is a sidel elevation view thereof showing a fragmentary portion of the doors operated thereby; it being understood that the scale at which thedoors are shown is substantially'smaller than the scale at which the operatorl is shown;

Fig. 3 is a top planview of a stop;

Fig. 4 is a front view of the stop shown in Fig. 3 assembled with a nut` for securing it to a worm;

Fig. 5 isa right hand View, partially in section, of the stop and nut assembly shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a side view of the nut shown in Figs. 4 and 5;

Fig. '7 is a vertical longitudinal sectionthrough the operator, drawn to a slightlyy largerscale than Figs. 1 and 2, with certain parts shown in elevation and certain parts broken away to show details of construction. In this view the doors are not shown in their true relation to the op- 2` erator but have been revolved approximately about the axis of the motor shaft;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan View of'` the emergency door opening device showing the releasable means for putting it into operation.;

Fig. 9 is a section of Fig. 8in the plane 9--9 Fig. 10 is an end elevation viewof'a` detail;

Fig. 11 is a section through the nut housing taken in the plane II -I I of Fig. 1;

Fig. 1 2l is a section through the nut onlyin planeV IfI--IjI of Fig 1; and

Fig. 13 is a side view of the nut.

Referring to, the drawing and particularly' to Fig. 7-

Myl operator comprises a base I having two longitudinally extending bars or rods 2- (see also Figs. 1 and 2) at each side thereof which are supportedA in blocks 3 and Il secured to the baseby any suitable means. Mounted to slidefreely longitudinally on these rods is a supporting ring 5 which carries the driving motor 6 and; most of the driven mechanism of the operator. The operator is pivotally supported in the ring 5- by trunnion pins 'l and 8 (see Fig. 7) about the common vertical axis of which the operator may oscillate to some degree.

The operator comprises a cylindrical casing 9 having a square flange Ill adjacent the motor and to which the motor is secured by cap screws IfI which are threaded into the flanged `element I2. The element I2, in turn,A is securedr tothe motor casing by screws I3. The hanged element I2` is shown in Fig. l0, and has integral therewith four segmental, cylindrical projections I'4 which extend into the casing 9, as shown in Fig. 7.

Secured to the shaft I5 of the moton by a set screw I 6 which passes through the ring I1, is the hollow drivingv element I8 of they operator. The element I8 is provided with a flange I9 having an openingV 20 therein which receives one end ofthe helical driving spring 2l surrounding the element I8. The element I8 4is provided with a self-lubricating bushing 22, and is supported in the ball bearing 23. Y

Coaxial with the driving element I8 is a driven element 24 which issupported in the bearing25 having a sliding nt within the casing 9. The driven element 2,4 is provided With a iiangey 26, similar to the flange I`9 on the driving element, which has an opening 2l therein to receive the other end' of' the driving spring ZI. An extension 28 of the driven element is slidably tted within the bushing 22, and the driven element has an enlarged portion 29- which maintains the spring 2r centered thereon and which is normally held in spaced relation to the inner end of the driving element by the spring 2|' which is partially compressed between the flanges I9 and 26. However, the driven element may slide axially within the casing 9 against the compression of spring 2| until the end of the enlarged portion 29 contacts the inner end of the driving element I8.

Outside the casing 9 but coaxial with the motor shaft and the driving and the driven elements is a worm 30 which is secured to the driven element by means of the sleeve 3 I; the sleeve 3| being secured to the driven element by means of the pin 32 and to the worm by means of the pin 33.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that rotation of the motor shaft I will turn the driving element E8, and the driven element 24, and the worm 30 secured thereto, will likewise be rotated or driven by the spring 2|.

Mounted to ride on the worm 30 is a nut housing 34 having a depending crank pin or stud 35 (see Fig. 2) thereon. Mounted on the stud 35l is the crank 36 which is secured at its other end in xed relation to the door shaft 31 by means of the pin 38. One of the panels 39 of the folding door is xed to the shaft 31 so that it swings therewith, and the other panel 4I) is hinged at 4I to the panel 39.

In order to facilitate the installation of my operator without the necessity of precisely aligning and arranging the various parts which connect the nut housing 34 to the crank 35 I providefor some angular movement in a vertical plane between the worm 3U and the nut housing 34. Thus, referring to Figs. 11, 12 and 13 and also to Fig. 2, the passage 42 in the nut housing through which passes the worm 39 is made somewhat larger in diameter than the outside diameter of the worm and a cross bore 43 is made through the nut housing at right angles to the passage 42 so that the axis of the cross bore intersects the axis of the passage 42. Mounted to oscillate in the bore 43 is the cylindrical nut 44 which is provided with a threaded passage 45 therethrough adapted to co-operate with the threads on the worm.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that, as the worm 30 rotates in one direction the nut housing 34 will travel along the worm in one direction and, when the direction of rotation of the worm is reversed, by reversing the motor, the direction of movement of the nut housing 34 along the worm will likewise be reversed. When the nut housing is in the position indicated at 34 in Fig. l, the doors will be in the closed position as indicated by the solid lines; and when the nut housing is in the position 34' at the other end of the worm, the doors will be in the open position, as shown in dotted outline.

In order that the movements of the nut housing 34 may be precisely limited between the open and closed positions of the doors, I provide adjustable stops 46 for the nut housing which may be moved along and secured in xed relation to the worm in the desired positions. Each of these stops comprises a nut 41 which is threaded to fit the worm 30 and which is provided with an extended collar portion 48 which is split into four segments. This collar fits within the annular stops 46, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The stops l are provided -with four radially extending threaded passages 49 to receive the set screws 59 which bear on the segments of the collar 48 and serve not only to force these segments into firm engagement with the threads on worm 30 but also to secure the stops 46 on the collar 48. If the ends of the nut housing were plane surfaces and moved into engagement with parallel plane surfaces on the stops which rotate at high speed with the worm, the nut housing would tend to bind at each end of its stroke. For this reason, I provide -a projection 63 on each end of the nut housing (see Figs. 3, 4, 5, 1 and 11) and a projection 64 on the face of each of the stops 46 which is adapted to co-operate with the projections on the nut housing to stop the movement of the housing before the ends thereof come generally into contact with the faces of the stops.

Since the axis of the door shaft 31 is xed, and the crank 36 swings about this axis, the center of the nut housing 34 in moving from the doorclosed to the door-opened position moves in an arcuate path indicated by the dash and dot line 5| in Fig. 1, and, for this reason, the motor and the operating mechanism are arranged to oscillate on the trunnions 1 and 8.

From a consideration of Figs. 1 and '1 it will be apparent that the nut housing 34 must move to the right along the worm 3 in order to effect an opening of the doors. However, an opening of the doors may also be effected by moving the entire operator, except the base thereof, to the right.

When the operator will not function to open the door due to power failure or other cause, some means must be provided whereby the doors can 4be opened. I have therefore provided the means described below whereby the entire operator may be automatically moved to the right by simply releasing a latch which may be positioned in any place conveniently accessible to the occupants of the vehicle.

Secured to the supporting ring 5 by means of the trunnion pin 8 which passes therethrough, or by other means, is a plunger 52 which is slidably tted in the tube 53 which in turn is secured in the block 54 by means of a set screw 55 (see Figs. 8 and 9). The block 54 is secured to the base I by means of the screws 56, or otherwise. Compressed between the block 54 and the supporting ring 5 and surrounding the tube 53 is a powerful helical spring 51 @and the parts are normally held in the position shown in the drawings with the spring 51 substantially fully compressed by means of the latch 58 which extends through the block 54, the side of the tube 53, and engages an appropriate opening (not shown) in the plunger 52. The latch 58 is normally held in engagement with the plunger by means of the compression spring 59 but may be retracted from its engagement Awith the plunger 52 by simply pulling out on the button 69 which is secured to the stem 6I of the latch by means of the set screw 62. Thus, in an emergency, the doors may be opened by merely pulling out the button 6!) to withdraw the latch 58 from engagement with the plunger 52, whereupon, the spring 51 will slide the entire operator to the right on the bars 2 and the nut housing 34 will be moved from the door-closed position, shown in solid lines in Figs. 1 and 7, to the door-opened position shown in dotted outline in these figures. To restore the operator to its normal condition and position, as shown in the drawings, it is only necessary to operate the motor in the door-closing direction which will turn the worm 3D and move it through the nut and nut housing 34 until the stop 64 comes in contact therewith, at which time the plunger 52 will have been returned to its normal position. It will be noted from Fig. '1 that the end of the plunger 52 is beveled sothat, in passing, it will force the latch 58 back against the compression of spring 59, and the latch will automatically snap back into the opening in the plunger and lock it in the position shown in the drawings.

The emergency opening means may also be reset by slamming the doors shut by hand.

It is to be understood that the motor 6 is of the reversible type so that it is adapted to run in either direction. Thus, assuming that to open the door the motor shaft and the worm must rotate in a clockwise direction,y as viewedfrom the left hand end of the worm, it will be apparent that, as the motor starts it will tend rst to wind up the spring 2ik and the driven element will not move until the Stress in the spring is sufflcient to overcome the resistance of the driven element to a door-opening movement. When the motor is started to .close the doors, it will tend first to unwind the spring and there will be no movement of the driven element until the stress in the spring is sufficient to overcome the resistance of the driven element to the door-closing movement. Thus, the spring provides a yielding driving connection between the driving and driven elements of the operator which permits the motor to build up a substantial torque before it is required to take up its maximum load.

In addition to the function of the spring which I have just described it performs another very important function. Since `the driven element may slide axially in the casing until the end of the enlarged portion 2'9 thereof comes into contact with the end of the driving member, it will be apparent4 that the doors are held in yieldingly closed or opened position because they may be moved to an appreciable extent from `either of these Ypositions by the movement of the driven element axially toward the driving element.

The control means for the motor forms no part of my invention and therefore no detailed description thereof is made. However it may be mentioned that the motor is controlled in the conventional manner and that checking means for preventing the door from slamming open may be accomplished in the usual manner by cutting resistances into the motor circuit.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have provided a door operator embodying all of the safety features which are ordinarily required in devices of this character.

What I claim is:

l. A door operator comprising a base, a reversible motor having a rotatable shaft, an elongated worm driven by said shaft, means connecting said motor and worm to said base and providing free sliding movements of said motor and worin relative to said base in a direction generally parallel to said worm, a movable nut on said worm provided with means for operatively connecting it to said door to open and close the same as said nut is moved back and forth on said worm, a normally energized spring cooperating with said connecting means and biased to effect, when released, a bodily sliding movement of said motor, worm and nut relative to said base to effect a door-opening movement of said nut, and a manually releasable latch normally holding said spring in energized condition but adapted to release the same to effect a door-opening movement of said nut in the event said motor is inoperative.

2. A door operator comprising a base, a reversible motor having a rotatable shaft, an elongated Worm, bearings coaxial with said shaft in which said Worm is rotatably mounted, a torsion spring having one end connected to said shaft and the other end connected to said worm for yieldingly transmitting driving torque from said notor to said worm, a nut on said worm provided With means adapting it to be operatively connected to said door for opening and closing the same as said nut is moved back and forth on said worm, means connecting said motor and said bearings in fixed relation to each other to said base but providing relative movement of said motor and bearings with respect to said base in a direction generally parallel to the axis of said worm and nut, means including a manually releasablelatch cooperating with said connecting means and normally holding said connecting means in fixed relation to said base, and a spring cooperating with said connecting means and also normally held in energized condition by said latch for effecting, upon a release thereof, a door-opening movement of said nut.

3. In a door operator, the combination with a reversible electric motor of an elongated Worm rotated by said motor, a movable nut on said Worm provided with means adapting it to be operatively connected to said door to open and close the same as said nut moves back and forth on said worm, a base, means forming a mounting on said base for said motor, worm and nut and on which saidfparts are slidable together in a direction generally parallel to the axis ofv said worm., a normally energized spring cooperating with said base and with said parts sldably mounted thereon to eiiect upon a release of said spring a sliding movement of said parts in a direction to eilect a door-opening movement of said nut, and a manually operable latch cooperating with said spring and normally holding itin energized condition but adapted to release the same to effect a doormpening movement of said nut in the event said motor is inoperative du'e to power failure or otherwise.

4. In a door operator, the combination with a reversible electric motor, of an elongated worm driven thereby, a movable nut on said worm provided with means adapting it to be operatively connected to said door to open and close the same as said nut moves back and forth on said Worm, adjustable stops on said worm limiting the movements of said nut thereon, means operatively securing said motbr and worm together to form a unitary assembly, a base, a mounting slidably securing said assembly to said base to move back and forth thereon in the general direction of the movements of said nut on said worm, a manually releasable latch normally holding said assembly in non-slidable relation to said base, and a spring also held in normally energized condition by said latch and adapted to cooperate with said mounting upon a release of said latch to effect a sliding movement of said assembly in a direction to effect a door-opening movement of said nut thereon; whereby, in the event said motor becomes inoperative when said door is closed, an opening thereof may be automatically eiected by releasing said latch.

5. In a door operator, the combination with a reversible electric motor having a rotatable shaft, o-f a worm, bearings in which said Worm is both rotatably and slida'bly mounted coaxial with said shaft, a helical torsion spring coaxial with said shaft and worm and connected to each to form a yielding driving connection between said shaft and worm, a movable nut on said worm provided with means adapting it to be connected to said door for opening and closing the same as said nut moves back and forth on said worm, a base, a pivotal mounting for said motor and worm about which said motor and worm may oscillate as a unit, means slidably connecting said mounting to said base to move freely back and forth on said base in the same general direction that said nut moves on said worm, a manually releasing latch for normally holding said mounting in non-slidable relation to said base, and a compression spring cooperating with said base and mounting and normally held in compressed condition by said latch for automatically eiecting, upon a release of said latch, a sliding movement of said mounting on said base in a direction to eiect a door-opening movement of said nut; whereby, in the event said motor becomes inoperative when said door is closed, said door may be automatically opened by releasing said latch.

6. In a door operator, the combination with a door, of a reversible electric motor, reciprocating means, means operatively connecting said reciprocating means to said door, a reversible electric motor, means operatively connecting said motor to said reciprocating means for driving the same to eiect opening* and closing movements of said door, a base, means slidably connecting said reciprocating means and said motor to said base to provide door-opening and doorclosing movements of said reciprocating means when said motor is inoperative, a latch normally holding said motor and said reciprocating means in non-sliding relation to said base for normal operation of said reciprocating means by said motor, and a spring cooperating with said means connecting said reciprocating means to said base and normally held in energized condition by said latch but adapted, upon a release of said latch, automatically to effect a sliding movement of said reciprocating means on said base and in a direction to effect a door-opening movement of said reciprocating means.

7. In a door operator, the combination with a reciprocating element provided with means adapting it to be connected to a door, of driving mechanism including a reversible electric motor for reciprocating said element to eiect ydoor-opening and door-closing movements thereof, a base, a mounting for said element, driving mechanism and motor` slidably securing said parts to said base to move freely together in the same general directions that said element moves when driven by said mechanism to effect an opening and closing of the door, a manually releasable latch normally holding said parts in non-slidable relation to said base, and a spring normally held in energized condition by said latch and biased automatically to effect, upon a release of said latch, a sliding movement of said parts on said base in a direction to eiect a door-opening movement of said reciprocating element; whereby, when said motor is inoperative by reason of power failure or otherwise, and said door is closed, it maybe automatically opened by merely releasing said latch.

PERCY M. GRIFFIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le oi this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,658,722 Hynes Feb. 7, 1928 1,824,679 Morris Sept. 22, 1931 1,833,943 Hill Dec. 1, 1931 1,851,431 Hynes Mar. 29, 1932 1,868,599 Griffin July 26, 1932 2,075,000 McCloud Mar. 23, 1937 2,096,251 Knight et al. Oct. 19, 1937 2,110,231 McCloud Mar. 8, 1938 2,259,811 Fregeau Oct. 21, 1941 2,341,478 Rappl Feb. 8, 1944 2,390,117 Michelman Dec. 4, 1945 

